GRU (São Paulo) ✈ GIG (Rio De Janeiro) | AVIANCA AIRLINES A320

Avianca A320

This was my first Avianca Brasil flight. I flew from GRU (São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport) ✈️ GIG (Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport), an approximately 55 minutes flight departing from Terminal 2.

The aircraft was very clean. The worst about my experience with Avianca was that I couldn’t select my seat until check-in, or before that by calling after booking. Their website, avianca.com, is out of date, and there are separate sites for check-in, to check flight status or to purchase tickets, and I couldn’t find a login for it. As a website developer this was particularly annoying for me; all these functions should be together in one place.

That said, Avianca’s customer service is great and delivered in Spanish, English or Portuguese. I purchased my ticket on United Airlines, so I earned some valuable miles on the trip by using my MileagePlus number and leveraging my United status.

Check in at the airport was quick and easy. It was a noon flight, which was the perfect time to miss the morning traffic from Downtown Sao Paulo to Guarulhos, which can be a nightmare if you are rushed or it’s raining. I left three hours before the flight in an Uber (surge price, 1.9x). There were digital stands for check-in, or you could queue in line. Since I have status with United Airlines, a partner of Avianca, I went straight to the priority lane. I was also able to board first with a carry on and a computer bag, and I checked my 27″ iMac and another luggage.

Every seat had IFE (in-flight entertainment) screens with extensive selections of movies, a route map, TV shows and games, which you can play with a remote. The IFE was great and will make a short or long trip on this aircraft go fast and little bit more enjoyable.

There were no business class seats on this aircraft configuration. Beverages and delicious, warm cheese sandwiches were served at no charge. That’s great for a quick domestic flights, especially considering many U.S. airlines don’t offer anything free but rather seem to charge for all the extras these days.

The flight attendants were very friendly — no complaints there.

Now time to relax by the beach in Ipanema, get inspired, work and explore the city and nightlife.